They made camp that night about a mile outside of Lothering, deciding to wait until morning before starting the journey to Redcliffe. Fenthorn had joined them earlier as they were leaving the small village, surprising the Wardens and mage, impressing the Qunari, and exciting the mabari. During the last two years, he had grown to be larger than the average male red lion. Fully grown, he was a little over eleven feet long and, when standing, was about as tall as Mel. His body was all muscle and Mel figured he weighed well over 700 pounds, something she was reminded of often as he had developed of habit of sitting on her whenever he thought she had done something stupid and reckless. Add together his overprotectiveness and pride, that occurred far too often.

Once they had made camp he had placed himself at the edge of the clearing, on guard. Fang had joined him, the dog clearly wanting to be friends and trying to entice the massive cat to play. Fen just ignored the mabari. Sten had also placed himself on guard on the other end of the clearing.

The group had also been joined by a couple of dwarven merchants, Bodahn Feddic and his son, Sandal. Sandal had also taken an interest in Fen, but unlike the mabari, Fen had shown affection to the odd dwarf, allowing him to pet him and not once growling at the boy, even when he stepped on his tail.

To show his gratitude for being allowed to travel with them, Bodahn had provided tents free of charge and everything else at a discount. Most of the tents were set up near the main campfire, though Morrigan had set hers up separate from the others and had created her own fire, where she now sat by, deep in thought. The Wardens were sitting by each other, discussing something, their voices too low for Mel to hear. Leliana sat with Mel, now wearing armor, her Chantry robes neatly folded in her pack.

Just when Mel was thinking about turning in for the night, Leliana spoke, "You didn't give them a last name."

She looked at Leliana, confused, "What?"

Leliana nodded toward the Wardens, "You didn't share your heritage with them."

Feeling herself grow tense at the mention of her past, Mel picked up a small stick and started to draw circles in the dirt. "I don't have a heritage anymore, remember? Besides, we all stuck with just first names. It's neater."

Leliana gazed at her with understanding and sympathy, "You can't run from your past forever."

Mel lifted a brow and shot her a look. "I feel I should warn you that you're straying dangerously close to hypocrisy."

Leliana smiled. "Do not fear. I feel that my period of running may be coming to a close."

Mel focused back on her mindless scribbling so as not to show her concern at the redhead's words. If the Sister wasn't overly worried, then neither would she. "Maker whispering in your ear again?"

Leliana chuckled. "Just a feeling. But speaking of my vision, I do have a question for you." Mel looked up again and motioned for her to continue. Leliana's expression became a little serious. "You've never given me a clear answer on whether or not you believe the Maker sent me a vision."

Ah fuck. Mel had hoped to avoid this though she knew it was foolish to think she could. She took a deep breath before answering, "Do I believe you believe? Yes. Do I believe that the Maker could have sent you a vision? Yes. Do I believe that you did receive such a vision? I'm afraid I can't provide you with a straight yes or no." She attempted to explain, "I'm open to the possibility but…"

"A part of you requires proof," Leliana finished for her, not a trace of bitterness in her voice.

Mel nodded, feeling as if she had let her friend down. "Not that I don't trust your word."

Leliana held up a hand and smiled. "No, I understand. It is a lot to take on with only faith. I'm content with just an open mind. So few have one."

Pleased that she hadn't offended her, Mel stared into the fire and her thoughts strayed to Lothering. "What do you think will happen to all those people back in Lothering?" She noted Leliana's arched brow and narrowed her eyes. "What? Look, just because I wanted to get out before things got worse doesn't mean I don't worry about those left behind. If I didn't care about them, I would've left as soon as the money had dried up."

Leliana shook her head, "I didn't mean to offend. I suppose some will find their way to Denerim. Unfortunately, many will die. As the Maker wills."

Mel gripped the stick in both hands as she struggled with that statement, not even noticing when she snapped it in two. "Do you think He does? Wills that those people die?"

Aware of her friend's internal struggle, having wondered the same before, Leliana did her best to answer. "I believe that He has a plan, one we cannot fully comprehend at this time. One that will lead an end to the darkness and chaos that plagues our world. That is why we must have faith and follow His will, even if it means the giving of our lives without fully knowing the reason why."

Mel sighed, "That's an awful lot for Him to ask of us."

"He promises a lot in return."

"So you don't regret not being able to stay and help them?"

Leliana looked over at the Wardens, determination in her eyes. "If the Blight isn't stopped, everyone will die. This is the greater good we're serving." She turned back to Mel. "Both of us."